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Wang Chong isn't sure when James and Mike Brown will ever understand the correct way to use Ben Wallace, but even if their coaching skills seem questionable, their opponent can still make things work. After all, being an NBA head coach, making millions of dollars annually, and maintaining a career means that, while they might be slow learners, they won't make mistakes forever.To be fair, the Cavaliers hadn't had trouble using Ben Wallace before. He's always been the main interior defender, but when facing the Bulls—or, to be more precise, Wang Chong, who averaged 35.6 points per game last season and was the top scorer in the playoffs with over 36 points per game—Mike Brown made a major blunder.
Relying on Ben Wallace alone to contain Wang Chong was a delusion from the start.
Mike Brown paid the price for his misguided strategy.
In the first quarter, Wang Chong had no trouble scoring against Ben Wallace, either by breaking through with the ball or shooting from mid-range. Ben's defensive interference was minimal. Wang Chong torched him with 18 points in the first quarter alone, making 8 of 12 field goals and 2 free throws.
With Wang Chong's 18 points, the Bulls finished the first quarter with a solid 30-22 lead, up by 8 points.
Cavaliers fans were in shock. What's going on? Wasn't Ben Wallace supposed to improve the team's defense? Why was Wang Chong scoring even more easily than he had last season?
It wasn't just Wang Chong's scoring that was the issue.
The Bulls have always been known more for their defense than their offense. Offensively, they often relied heavily on Wang Chong to carry the load. But their defensive system is one of the best in the league, with standout perimeter defenders and Chandler offering solid rim protection. Chandler has great mobility and is a capable help defender.
Unlike the Cavaliers' rushed strategy for this game, the Bulls had already studied how to attack Cleveland's weaknesses.
Just as the Cavaliers couldn't guard Wang Chong, the Bulls knew they couldn't completely stop James. So their strategy was simple: let Luol Deng defend James one-on-one. If James wanted to score through brute force, so be it. Let him.
However, Raja Bell shadowed Larry Hughes closely, giving him no easy looks.
Hughes, as the Cavaliers' second scoring option, has seen his stats plummet since arriving in Cleveland—from his previous averages of 22+6+5 per game with the Wizards to 15+4+4 in Cleveland. In the first few games of this new season, Hughes' numbers remained around 15+4+3, and his shooting percentage barely scraped above 40%.
But even so, Hughes was still the only other consistent scorer on the team outside of James. Compared to Big Z and Gooden, who both averaged 11 or 12 points per game, Hughes' performance was relatively stable.
Given that James managed to carry this Cavaliers team to the Finals in the 2006-07 season, it's remarkable—though I've always said that Cleveland's Finals appearance had more to do with the weak Eastern Conference, not to mention James' games often felt like 8-on-5 affairs, complete with superstar calls, travels, and other questionable decisions in his favor. It's no surprise that he was hard to handle.
Against the Bulls, the Cavaliers faced a defense similar to what they'd encounter against the Spurs in the Finals. That's because the Bulls' defensive system is modeled closely after the Spurs. And yes, that's by design.
Wang Chong is not a professional coach, and he doesn't fully understand the so-called defensive tactics. But he knew how to assemble a group of players with top-notch defensive skills. Of course, just gathering talented players isn't enough to make a successful team.
Since last season, Wang Chong has constantly urged the Bulls to study the Spurs' defense, requesting video analysts to break down footage frame by frame and train the team accordingly.
Naturally, this made head coach Scott Skiles feel awkward at first. After all, he's the head coach, and his players were learning Spurs' tactics instead of his own. It was essentially a slap in the face.
Initially, Scott was frustrated by this, but as Wang Chong's star continued to rise, Skiles had no choice but to go along with it.
And as it turned out, it was the right decision!
Last season, the Bulls' defensive efficiency ranked among the best in the league, and they rode their defense all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Scott even found himself in discussions for Coach of the Year. In the end, though, the Mavericks' coach won the award, but this was still the most praise Scott had received since coaching in the NBA.
Now that Scott had experienced success, he didn't care whose tactics they were. He was happy to use whatever worked.
Over the summer, Scott reviewed extensive footage of the Spurs' previous games, studied their tactics in depth, and integrated them into the Bulls' original defensive system, adding new elements to make the Bulls even stronger on defense.
As a result, while the Bulls' offensive system is quite different from the Spurs, their defense is strikingly similar. Chandler plays a role comparable to Duncan, while Bell and Luol Deng assume roles akin to Bowen's.
The improvement in the Bulls' defense has been noticeable since the start of the new season.
First, the Bulls' players are becoming more comfortable with this Spurs-inspired system.
Second, Luol Deng, the main perimeter defender, has continued to grow. In particular, he has learned many defensive tricks from veteran Raja Bell, and his experience and defensive ability have improved significantly.
Third, and most importantly, Wang Chong has gradually integrated himself into the team's defensive system.
Although the Bulls had a strong defense last season, Wang Chong operated more independently. He often guarded the opponent's weakest player, so as long as he didn't lose his man too easily, he wasn't dragging the team down.
This was primarily because Wang Chong expended so much energy on offense that his physical limitations left him little room to focus on defense.
However, this season, Wang Chong has shifted away from his individual style and begun to fully integrate into the team's overall tactics.
Let's ask a question: what does it mean to have peak Durant defense on your team?
For those unfamiliar with this concept, they might not know. Although Durant has never been considered a top defender and has never made an All-Defensive Team, when Durant puts his mind to it, his defense is no joke and can even be described as exceptional.
It might sound contradictory to say that Durant is both not known for defense yet can still be strong defensively, but there's no real conflict here.
As mentioned earlier, Durant's physical limitations prevent him from giving equal attention to both offense and defense at the same time. But when he can focus on defense, he becomes a formidable presence.
Durant doesn't need fancy defensive skills. Standing over 6'11" with a 7'5" wingspan and guard-like agility, he's naturally suited for elite defense.
Defense is a task that tests one's talent. Either you have overwhelming static talents, like Garnett, Duncan, and Gobert, or you possess outstanding dynamic talents, like Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard.
Durant falls into the first category, blessed with extraordinary physical gifts. Just standing there, his mere presence can deter most average players.
What Durant can do, Wang Chong—linked to Durant's growth card and strengthened to a peak level—can also do, and more.
Moreover, thanks to the previous mission's reward of unlocking a blind box containing two silver badges—Death Coil and Basket Protector Elite—Wang Chong's defensive abilities are now superior to Durant's.
The Bulls, already a top-tier defensive team, now have Wang Chong's additional defensive prowess, making their defense even stronger.
Of course, Wang Chong still devotes most of his energy to offense, only stepping up defensively during key moments, partnering with Chandler to lock down the Bulls' entire paint area.
Offensively, Wang Chong's reduced load has been taken up by Monta Ellis and Luol Deng.
In his second season, Ellis has learned how to fully utilize his speed on the court and plays much smarter than he did as a rookie. He's now averaging 19.4 points and 4.8 assists per game, with his shooting percentage jumping from 41% last season to 48%. His explosive drives have become a nightmare for opposing defenses.
Ellis' rapid development is clearly due to playing alongside Wang Chong, whose future-focused training tips have accelerated his growth.
Similarly, Luol Deng has improved, although his situation is a bit different since he plays at the same forward position as Wang Chong. Deng often faces Wang Chong one-on-one during practice.
Naturally, Deng struggles against Wang Chong, who has reached the highest level of skill in the game, but as martial arts movies often say, "To learn how to win, you must first learn how to lose."
After countless losses, Deng's experience has skyrocketed, leading to significant improvements on both offense and defense.
Because the Bulls' primary scoring options are now Wang Chong and Ellis, Deng's statistics have dropped to around 15 points and 6 rebounds per game this season, lower than the 19+7 he averaged at the same point in the original timeline.
Still, despite the lower numbers, Wang Chong's one-on-one duels with Deng indicate that Deng's actual strength surpasses his original 2006-07 version. His overall rating is nearing 80.
Don't assume that just because Wang Chong has a 97 rating, the league is full of players with ratings above 90. In reality, at least half of the 24 All-Stars each
season are rated below 90. An 80 rating already puts Deng among the league's above-average players.
As for Wang Chong, who frequently faces 90+ defenders, even he finds it increasingly difficult to break through Deng's defense.
This has become a new training regimen for Wang Chong in the new season. Going one-on-one against Luol Deng has become a staple of his day-to-day training.
This pairing of offense and defense is mutually beneficial, elevating both players' skill sets. Wang Chong's offensive rating now sits at 98, approaching the NBA's historical ceiling of 99.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers, who boasted one of the league's best defenses last season, managed only 16 points in the second quarter and 20 in the third, largely due to the Bulls' new defensive schemes.
By the end of the game, the Bulls had achieved a dominant 109-90 victory, cruising to a 19-point blowout.
Wang Chong finished with 44 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Ellis contributed 22 points and 5 assists. Luol Deng chipped in with 14 points and 5 assists.
Meanwhile, for the Cavaliers, James led with 28 points and 6 assists, while Hughes managed 11 points, but the rest of the team struggled to contribute.
Perhaps the Cavaliers will eventually figure out how to better use Ben Wallace, but by that time, they may have already fallen behind in the race for the Eastern Conference title.
End of this chapter
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